Establishing Your Emergency Retreat Getaway: The Planning Stages & What To Look For

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December 11, 2014

Searching for an emergency retreat getaway that will become your sanctuary should natural or social disaster hit, is one of the most important aspects of prepping — and is not a decision to be taken lightly.

There are many things to consider when locating the perfect emergency retreat, and careful advanced planning could mean the difference between life and death. Access to water, food, storage space, community, and the ability to defend yourself and your shelter are all essential components of an emergency retreat.

A variety of factors must be dealt with before the SHTF. It goes without saying that that the majority of your gear should be stored at your emergency shelter in case you have to leave home quickly with just your family and bugout bags, so everything you need to survive for possibly a long period of time should be purchased and prepared for in advance.

That being said, some of your supplies should remain at your main home in the event you are trapped and cannot get to your emergency retreat.

Location and Amenities

Before you begin searching for the exact spot to begin preparing your emergency retreat, it is important to read up on...

Kam Kasravi and Connie Dewitt wanted a modern cabin that wouldn't disrupt the Redwoods on their property. First they considered prefabs, but quickly realized they wouldn't fit up the narrow road to their land in the Santa Cruz mountains. So they convinced their friend, architect David Fenster, to design them a home made from shipping containers.

Built from recycled cargo containers hand-picked from the Port of Oakland, Six Oaks was built around the footprint of the land. The containers were building blocks that were cut and stacked to fit between Redwoods along a steep grade.

While the home was assembled in 6 hours, it took nearly a year to finish the interior since so much of it was custom. The unique materials meant some unique requirements: instead of carpenters, they used welders; a commercial roofer had to be hired, etc.

Acoording to Connie, it wasn't "the cheapest way to build", but It cost about $50 per square foot less than a more conventional custom home.

They didn't aim to build an extreme home, but the couple feel confident their home will hold up well under extreme conditions- i.e. falling trees, forest fires. Connie jokes that if a tree does fall on the home, "it will get a little dent and we'll call the auto body shop to fix the house".

Great post P4P. All the ideas in the 'what to look for' article are relevant, but the container house in the video, while stunning, is super extravagant for the overwhelming majority of folks and not very practical as it takes all sorts of heavy machinery to build.

My advise, as always, is to get a good ax or two and learn how to use them. If you do have to flee your $200 000 emergency shelter in a hurry, you'll have the skills to build a new home where ever you choose.

Popcorn is now being served.

"Don't gain the world and lose your soul, wisdom is better than silver or gold" -Bob Marley